


what makes you whole

by like_theletter



Series: MCYT [8]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Banter, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Healing, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Platonic Relationships, Prompt: Touch-Starved, Purpled Needs a Hug, Slice of Life, Touch-Starved, and he gets one. that is the premise of the fic, heavy on the comfort for once, implied PTSD, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:47:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29669574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/like_theletter/pseuds/like_theletter
Summary: “Are you… good?” Purpled blinks and Tommy’s moved to sit next to him on the couch, looking awkward. Purpled nods. Tommy’s hand twitches as if he’s going to reach out. He doesn’t.Something Purpled’s noticed is that Tommy is very… touchy. Clingy, he’d say, if he wanted to piss him off. He’s always hugging Tubbo from behind or punching Ranboo playfully on the arm, and Purpled… doesn’t know how he feels about the fact that Tommy’s never like that with him.(Purpled has something he needs, but he doesn't know how to ask for it.)
Relationships: ALL PLATONIC, Grayson | Purpled & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: MCYT [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2077845
Comments: 29
Kudos: 629
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	what makes you whole

**Author's Note:**

> Title from The Scar by China Miéville. 
> 
> second installment in the angst prompts series! ranboo-centric rl au one next and it's about three times as long as this one KJSDHFJK
> 
> bro i REALLY enjoyed writing this i forget how much i love slice of life/banter-y stuff... might wanna expect more of that in the future
> 
> this is dedicated to everyone with purpled as a comfort character (lookin at you sav) y'all have NO canon content and yet make the richest most painful aus i'm in awe of you o7
> 
> oh speaking of comfort character,,, i realize that the way i phrased the notes in my last fic made it seem like q was my comfort character,,, but it's actually tubbo KSJDFH so sorry that wasn't clear 
> 
> OH YEAH this is kind of yadda-yadda'd but this is an au where ranboo comes from the future and convinces tommy, tubbo, and purpled to run away after the festival. don't think about it too hard the important thing is they are living in a cottage away from all the fighting
> 
> anyway that's all enjoy and tell me about your day in the comments!!

Living with people is weird as hell.

Purpled’s lived with people before, sure. But that was back in the Hypixel dorms, 4 people to a bunk, with kids you didn’t know that cycled through too fast for you to ever really make friends with them. And then for the last three years he’s been alone.

Going from being alone to living with Tubbo and Ranboo and Tommy-fucking-Innit is… a difficult transition.

“What the fuck are you looking at me all weird for?”

Purpled snaps back to attention, and scowls at Tommy, who he’d apparently zoned out staring at. “I wasn’t looking at you. I was staring off into space and you were in my way.”

Tommy throws a piece of brownie at him. Tubbo calls from the kitchen, “Tommy, if you’re throwing my brownies, I’m going to spit in the next batch I make you.” Purpled hears Ranboo snicker.

“He was looking at me!” Tommy splutters, then glares at Purpled as if it’s  _ his  _ fault Tommy decided to assault him with baked goods. 

A difficult transition. Case in point.

Beyond brownie-throwing and bickering, Tommy leaves his hoodies all over the house. Tubbo stress-cleans and puts everything away where no one knows where it is. Ranboo leaves himself little reminders all over the bathroom mirror. Not to mention all the varying degrees of fucked-up they are— the nightmares and the panic attacks and and and— 

But it’s not all bad. Purpled’s handling it. He stopped jumping whenever he came into a room and saw someone there after the first month, and Tommy has finally stopped pestering Ranboo about the future, and Tubbo’s started baking and will leave each of them little containers of baked goods with their names on them. And they’re really good, when they’re not being used as ammunition.

“Are you… good?” Purpled blinks and Tommy’s moved to sit next to him on the couch, looking awkward. Purpled nods. Tommy’s hand twitches as if he’s going to reach out. He doesn’t.

Something Purpled’s noticed is that Tommy is very… touchy. Clingy, he’d say, if he wanted to piss him off. He’s always hugging Tubbo from behind or punching Ranboo playfully on the arm, and Purpled… doesn’t know how he feels about the fact that Tommy’s never like that with him.

They’re friends now. For real. They still have their antagonistic banter, but they’re  _ friends _ , so why wouldn’t he— 

But Purpled doesn’t like to be touched. Right? No, he never has. Whenever a donor would ruffle his hair or a manager would grab his arm he’d shudder. It’s always been like this. Why would now be any different?

But sometimes he sees Tommy fall asleep in Tubbo’s lap or sling an arm around Ranboo’s waist and he thinks— he thinks maybe— 

It doesn’t matter. Even if he wanted to be— like that, it’s not like he could just  _ ask.  _

Purpled eyes Tommy’s profile as he fiddles with his compass, which has been resolutely pointing Southeast instead of North since he made it. Something he’s learned about Tommy— that he never would’ve expected— is that for all his mocking, Tommy is a genuinely non-judgemental person. He’ll tease you a little, but back off if you get upset, and is quick to shrug and say “whatever floats your boat, man.” It’s hard to change his opinion of you with anything below betrayal.

It’s the loyalty, Purpled guesses. When Tommy claims you as his person— which, for whatever reason, Purpled has achieved in the months they’ve lived together— there’s very little you can do to lose his trust. 

So… so maybe… 

Purpled swallows and scoots a little closer to Tommy on the couch. Tommy doesn’t look up. 

Well. Okay. Another day, maybe.

No— fuck that. Purpled is not a coward. He was number 6 on the Bedwars leaderboards by age 14. He should not be this scared by a fucking hug.

Purpled scoots a little closer. His leg sits about six inches from Tommy’s. 

Tommy looks at him, then down at their legs, then back up at Purpled. “What.”

Shit. He didn’t think this far. 

Purpled opens his mouth, then closes it and looks away, feeling his face heat. Goddamnit. How is this harder than a Bedwars match? Fuck. Fuck his entire life.

Tommy sets the compass on the coffee table. “You’re being weird again.”

Purpled puts his face in his hands. This is so fucking embarrassing. 

He hears Tommy shift. “Do you want a hug? Is that what this is?”

Purpled turns sharply to look at Tommy in surprise, hands lowering. “How did you—”

“I’m a fuckin’ mind reader.” Tommy turns to face him. “Alright. C’mere.”

Purpled draws his hands to his chest, feeling a strange mixture of embarrassed and relieved. “I— I don’t—” He says, mouth dry. He can’t quite meet Tommy’s eyes. “I’ve never— I mean, I haven’t…”

Tommy’s face twists. He opens his mouth, then closes it, then opens it again to say, “Oh.”

Face hot, Purpled looks down at his hands, twisting around each other in his lap. Fuck. Fuck. This fucking sucks. He closes his eyes.

There’s a shuffling, then Purpled feels a light touch. He opens his eyes and Tommy’s hands are resting on his own, pale and scarred as they are, gently prying them apart. He looks up at Tommy’s face, feeling a pang of…  _ something,  _ in his chest, and Tommy meets his eyes for a second before looking back down. “Just shut up,” he grumbles, sounding vaguely embarrassed. 

“I—” Purpled starts, but whatever he was going to say dies on his tongue as Tommy moves closer and wraps Purpled’s arms around his shoulders. 

His skin is buzzing, burning at every place Tommy’s skin touches his own. Tommy wraps his arms around Purpled’s waist and Purpled can’t think, can’t stop himself from letting out a gasp, can’t hear anything other than the rush of blood in his ears— 

It’s so nice,  _ God,  _ he feels held and warm and loved and how has he gone so long without this and Tommy rubs circles on his back over his spine and Purpled chokes, tears sliding down his cheeks and— 

His senses clear a little bit as he feels himself melt into the embrace. As the ringing in his ears fades, he hears Tommy shushing him gently, rambling as he often does when people are panicking, talking about the things in the room and his plan for the day and how Tubbo probably  _ is _ going to spit in his brownies, that fucker. 

“I—” Purpled rasps, deeply embarrassed but still too overwhelmed to express it. 

“Shut up,” Tommy says, and punctuates it with a kiss to the side of his head. Purpled feels himself go red and on instinct, buries his face in Tommy’s neck. “You okay?”

Purpled nods wordlessly. Tommy runs a hand up and down his back and Purpled shivers. “We should’ve noticed you were touch starved, big man. That’s on us.”

Pulling away for the briefest moment (and mourning the lost contact), Purpled asks, “Noticed I was what?”

“Touch starved,” Tommy answers, shrugging. “It’s when, like— you don't get hugged and shit and your body gets all sad about it.” He flushes. “Tubbo’d explain it better.”

_ Touch starved.  _ Huh. “There’s— there’s a word for it?” Purpled asks before he can stop to consider how much more pathetic it makes him sound.

Tommy doesn’t look pitying, though. He just nods, and looks away for a moment, before saying, “Y’know, if you want to… if, like—” He makes a frustrated sound and shakes his head, as if clearing his thoughts; it’s something he does a lot when he’s trying to word something precisely. “If you want us to be all… touchy, with you, we will. I just—  _ we  _ just thought you didn’t like that kind of thing.”

“I do,” Purpled says, maybe a little too quickly. “Want that, I mean. That— yes.”

Tommy nods again. He puts his arm across the back of the couch.

Purpled blinks at him. “What.”

Tommy looks pointedly at Purpled, then at the space next to him. 

“Oh.” Purpled scoots next to Tommy. The arm wrapped around his shoulders is thin but warm, and Purpled finds himself leaning back into Tommy’s chest.  _ God.  _ He hasn’t realized how much he’s missed the feeling of another living breathing person near him, touching him— it’s like some broken part of his chest has been mended, just a little. Like he’s finally  _ warm _ .

“So,” Tommy says. “D’you have any idea how to fix a compass?”

**Author's Note:**

> leave a comment of what you liked (or what you didn't) and thanks so much for reading!
> 
> fun news: I AM TWITCH STREAMING!!! check me out [here](https://www.twitch.tv/like_theletter), i stream minecraft (and other things)!!! current schedule is wednesday nights at 8pm EST so if that's something you're interested in check it out :D we're beating the ender dragon tomorrow (02/24) so you might wanna hop on :O
> 
> EDIT: WHAT THE FUCK. WAS NOBODY GONNA FUCKING TELL ME THIS FIC COLLECTION WAS CALLED MYCT INSTEAD OF MCYT??!??!?!? EIGHT FUCKING WORKS IN THIS COLLECTION AND ONLY _NOW_ SOMEONE BOTHERS TO LET ME KNOW. THIS IS ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT I'M HUMILIATED
> 
> get excited for the next angst prompt and have a good rest of your week! be kind to yourself :]


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